.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Ina fascinating New York Observer article written by Ahmadinejad's interpreter while he was in New York comes this tidbit, during a speech by the Iranian president to an enthusiastic room of Iranian-Americans - who gave him a standing ovation:

“Two thousand Zionists want to rule the world. You can do it elsewhere,” he said, as if speaking directly to the mysterious 2,000, “but not in Iran. It’s impossible—it’s not doable.”

I am privileged to be one of the infamous, mythical Two Thousand.

And, Mr. Ahmadinejad will be frightened to know, our power does not stop at the borders of Iran.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs prints its reservations on the EU resuming funding the PA. Most of the things they bring up are familiar but some details were new to me. In the aggregate, it is hard to conclude anything other than the fact that the "moderate" Fatah party actively supports fighting and terrorizing Israel. (Translation by Daily Alert:)

Is Financial Aid from the West Supporting Palestinian Terrorists? - Jonathan D. Halevi

EU members have been expressing great interest in renewing financial support to the Palestinian Authority. On September 21, 2006, the office of the Palestinian president signed an agreement with the World Bank for the transfer of $46.6 million to maintain basic services in the Palestinian Authority. In order to encourage donating countries to transfer as much money as possible to finance its budget, the PA is striving to magnify the image of a "humanitarian crisis" in the territories. However, without proper supervision, the West's financial aid might directly or indirectly find its way to funding Palestinian terror.

The PA allocates $48 million a year to security prisoners in Israeli jails and to released prisoners. Every Palestinian prisoner or Israeli-Arab in an Israeli prison is entitled to receive financial aid from the PA if he was imprisoned for the struggle against "the Israeli occupation." In addition, a released prisoner is entitled to a government position if he spent more than 5 years in prison. A prisoner who spent over 25 years in prison is entitled to the position of deputy minister and the rank of a brigadier-general in the security forces. The PA also transfers millions of dollars per month to organizations, run mostly by Hamas, that support the families of prisoners, dead terrorists, and the wounded.

This system of support, which aids murderous terrorists, suicide bombers who were caught, and those who launched them, conveys the message that the Palestinian Authority supports the armed struggle against Israel. The West's financial aid to the PA, if renewed without the proper precautions and supervision, might end up supporting thousands of former and current Palestinian terrorists. (JCPA-Hebrew, 27Sep06)

So the longer you are in prison for terror activities, the higher your rank in the peaceful PA.

In other words, the EU wants to give money to a people who explicitly and consistently idolize and support terrorists.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

I do agree that the Arab psyche seems to predate Islam by quite a long period of time. I would venture to guess that Islam was heavily influenced by this Arab tribalist mindset overlaid with a religious motif.

As a trivial example, I once noted thatArab women covered their faces centuries before Mohammed. Islamic law apparently took the Jewish concepts of female modesty, applied it to justify the existing custom, and then used it to strengthen the laws of Islamic modesty beyond the original legal requirements. The Koranic laws may have been codifying and organizing existing Arab customs and mores.

Palestinian Arabs themselves have historically always been far more pragmatic than their "leaders," who almost invariably are more interested in destroying the Zionist state than in building their own.

LIKE every Palestinian town, Beita, a dusty home for 10,000 people spread across a hillside in the middle of the northern West Bank, has seen its fortunes dive since the start of the second intifada in 2000. Never prosperous, reliant on the wages of labourers who worked in Israel, it now has around 65% unemployment.

Yet since coming to office in December 2004, Arab Asharafa, the town's engaging and energetic mayor, has achieved something of a turnaround. He has widened the main road running through the town, is landscaping a new public park and opened a fruit and vegetable market that brings the council $100,000 a year in revenues (the market has gained at the expense of tightly-restricted Nablus, which used to be the main trading hub for the region). He has even started a project to bottle water from the town's spring and sell it, perhaps for export to Jordan.

What makes this remarkable is that the Beita council is dominated by Hamas, which ousted Fatah from the Palestinian Authority (PA) in elections this year. Well before the world's economic boycott of the PA began in March, foreign funding to local councils had begun drying up as Hamas took them over. Beita used to get 30-40% of its revenues from abroad, says Mr Asharafa; now it gets none.

Instead, Beita, under its Hamas mayor, provides an example of how Palestinians might start to wean themselves off donor-dependence. Its success comes partly because, while at the national level Fatah and Hamas are at loggerheads (talks on a national unity government, which seemed a done deal two weeks ago, are now stalled again), in Beita, as in many other mixed local councils, they co-operate.

It is also due to Mr Asharafa's mixture of charisma and creative thinking. He cracked down on electricity theft and non-payment of utilities bills while giving amnesties to students and the unemployed. He saves money by buying bulldozers and reselling them at the end of a project, instead of hiring. He talks businessmen into investing in public projects and taking a cut of the proceeds; at one point, he offered to put his own house up as collateral.

Politically, too, Mr Asharafa can permit himself statements that Hamas's senior leaders cannot. “Hamas must make peace with Israel,” he says, claiming that 90% of Palestinians want a two-state solution, and that the main obstacle—and reason why Hamas will not take the step of recognising Israel outright first—is a lack of trust.

While I, and every poll I've seen, disagree about the 90% number, this mayor symbolizes what Gaza could have been after Israel's withdrawal. Instead of wallowing in self-pity and blame, he actually acts to make life for his people better. He thinks creatively and he solves problems.

He sounds Jewish!

Too bad, Mr. Asharafa is the exception that proves the rule. He is more likely to be murdered for his views of a two-state solution than to be promoted to a ministerial position in the PA.On the other hand, we have "leaders" like the current chairman of Fatah, Faruq Qaddumi. He advocates overthrowing the PA government because he doesn't like the infighting between Hamas and Fatah. But one of his quotes is very telling:

Fatah secretary general and head of the PLO politburo, Faruq Qaddumi, sharply criticized the Hamas and Fatah movements, warning that "their stubbornness will lead to fighting between Palestinian factions," and accusing those of taking in part in negotiations of "not wanting to reach an agreement."

In an interview to the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper, Qaddumi claimed that the lead negotiators between the movements "are not interested in reaching an agreement." He called on the Palestinians to overthrow their government "so that Israel will bear the responsibility for the lives of the Palestinians who still are under the fire of occupation."

In other words, this "leader" who still operates out of Tunis wants the Palestinian Arabs to remain in refugee camps forever. He realizes that if PalArabs take responsibility for their own nation, and try to improve it - try to make the lives of their people better, try to build an economy, try to fight the clan wars and infighting, try to bring real peace and security to the region - then the pressure will be off of Israel!

This has been the face of the PalArab "leadership" - ignore the people except for their usefulness as pawns to pressure Israel. Happy Palestinian Arabs are very counterproductive to people like Qaddumi (as well as Haniyeh), because they don't turn into terrorists. Happy citizens actually go to work, provide for their families, and build an economy. Unhappy citizens attend protest after protest and blame others for their problems. As long as their "leaders" can channel their hate towards Israel and not towards the leaders themselves, they remain secure in their destructive policies.

It is a bit ironic that in this case, the real leader is the member of the recognized terror group and the destructive "leader" is a member of the "moderate" Fatah. But it is not surprising: Fatah is no more enlightened than Hamas is; it just has better PR.

I've mentioned before how, whenever Muslims call for "dialogue" with Christians or the West, they really mean that they want the opportunity to recruit more Muslims and that they have no interest in actually, you know, listen.

In other words, when they say "dialogue" they mean "Muslim monologue."

And this has been as consistent across all streams of Islam that I've seen. The terrorist front group CAIR has always called for "dialogue" as the answer for every problem, but look how they define it (in the recent example of the Pope kerfuffle):

"The proper response to the Pope's inaccurate and divisive remarks is for Muslims and Catholics worldwide to increase dialogue and outreach efforts aimed at building better relations between Christianity and Islam. This unfortunate episode also offers an opportunity for Christians to learn more about Islam, the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic concept of jihad.

The rest of the press release is, of course, a lesson in whitewashed Islam, cherry-picking Koranic statements to make it sound moderate.

Further proof about what "dialogue" means to Muslims comes from a favorite Palestinian Arab sheikh, who explicitly rejects the idea of dialogue - when the person initiating the dialogue is a Christian. (The amount of projection in his description of Catholic "dialogue" is classic.):

Pope Benedict XVI's meeting this week with a delegation of Muslim leaders and his calls for interfaith dialogue following earlier remarks about Islam are really "Crusader conspiracies" to subjugate the Islamic faith and force "Christian-Zionist" worldviews upon Muslims, a prominent Gaza Strip preacher told WorldNetDaily in an interview.

Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of Gaza's Jihadia Salafiya Islamic outreach movement, which seeks to make secular Muslims more religious, called the pope a "puppet" for "that Crusader George Bush."

The Gaza imam said the only Christian-Muslim dialogue that is acceptable is one in which "all religions agree to convert to Islam."

"The call for so-called dialogue by this little racist pope is a Trojan horse with the main goal of reaching a new system in which the ideals (of Christianity) are a new ideology that will rule relations between nations and people. The dialogue he wants is dangerous," said Abu Saqer, speaking to WND from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

"The pope is the spiritual and religious wing of the Crusader ideology," Abu Saqer said. "He is totally coordinated with Bush. Through this dialogue he hopes to break the lines of unity between Muslims and polarize the Muslim world, which has some partisans who will accept this new dialogue. But true believers know Islam must rule all relations. The only dialogue we will accept is when all other religions agree to convert to Islam."

Will we be seeing the "moderate" CAIR, or any Muslim leader for that matter, disagree with these statements?

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

I spend a fair amount of time browsing Google News for articles of interest that may have escaped the notice of the mainstream media. In many cases, the most virulently anti-semitic and absurdly pro-terrorist articles are concentrated in a relatively few set of "news" sources.

Some of them are predictable - loony left sites such as Indymedia, and English-language Arab or Iranian sites.

But the Internet has spawned a number of other Web "news sources" which claim to not have an ideological bias, and are in fact just collections of articles that can be written by pretty much anyone. Examples include:

There is no shortage of borderline psychos who tirelessly submit articles to these sites to push their agenda to make the Middle East, and the world, Jew-free. The sites themselves seem more interested in providing content to attach advertising to rather than in pushing a real agenda.

My suggestion, which I haven't yet had time to do myself, is for the Zionist Blogosphere (Z-Blogosphere?) to submit articles to these outlets. We can even rework old blog posts of which we are particularly proud. For most of us, it would increase our readership and allow us to counter the vile filth that passes for journalism or reasoned opinion on these sites.

Any articles that get rejected would, if nothing else, show the bias that the "unbiased" editors really have.

Unfortunately, the raw data for this poll is not available online (as was the case in past polls,) and the Palestinian Arab press release for the poll completely ignores the inconvenient support for terror that was uncovered, so I am relying on this Jerusalem Post report about the poll:

63% of PalArabs support shooting rockets into Israeli cities.57% support terror attacks against Israeli civilians inside the Green Line.75% support kidnapping Israeli soldiers to trade them for PalArab prisoners.

Yet "77% of Palestinians support a cease-fire with Israel and 74% believe that Palestinians cannot rely solely on armed struggle and must reach a political settlement with Israel."

The only way to interpret these contradictory results is to realize that to the Palestinian Arabs, peace is not the goal - the eradication of Israel is the goal, and they believe that this can be accomplished by diplomatic as well as terroristic means.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Following are excerpts from an Iranian TV report on Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean," which aired on the Iranian news Channel (IRINN) on July 27, 2006:Anchor: Zionist ideology uses all means to impose its cultural control. Cinema, as an attractive and popular form of art, has always interested the Zionist circles.Reporter: The hot news of cinema circles worldwide is: The "Pirates of the Caribbean" attack the silver screen. The example of "Pirates of the Caribbean" - Hollywood's latest effort to gain control - is all the more striking if we bear in mind the name of its producer: The Walt Disney company. Disney and its productions have been associated, more than anything, with the Zionist lobby in Hollywood. In 1995, when the pro-Zionist Jews were 2.5 percent of America's population, they made up 7.7 percent of Disney's board of directors. This clearly influences the content of this large company's productions, as well as its policies and guidelines. The Aladdin animated film series is one example of Disney creations that present Arabs in a negative light.

In 2004, Disney supported the Bush administration's expansionist policies, and refrained from screening the film "Fahrenheit 9/11," which harshly criticized Bush's policy in attacking Iraq. This film, which won the Palme d'Or award in the Cannes film festival, became the bestselling documentary in the history of the film industry. Disney's move brought it nothing but disgrace.

In any event, Zionism is not restricted to the capitalistic weapons companies, such as Lockheed and the banks that support it. Cinema is considered another, subtle, weapon in the hands of those who support this corrupt ideology. In Hollywood, Disney is the manufacturer of this weapon, and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" is its newest ammunition.

His central thesis is this one. Can you spot the gaping flaw in logic?

Gary Ratner, executive director of the Congress' Western region office in Los Angeles, says his group believes support for Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is central to the definition of a moderate. The definition Mr. Ranter implies that a moderate Muslim should support:

Israel's occupation of the Palestinian land.

Israel's occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Israel's killing of unarmed Palestinian men, women and children.

Israel's right to imprison some 10,000 Palestinians.

Israel's right to imprison elected government of the Palestinians and their members of Parliament.

Mr. Ghazali goes on to describe how the Muslim reformers that were honored by the American Jewish Congress are eminently unqualified to be called Muslim. I can see how he has problems with Salman Rushdie, Wafa Sultan and Nonie Darwish, who have all renounced their faith. But look at his arguments against the other two honorees:

Pakistan-born Tashbih Sayyed is editor of Pakistan Today weekly that is supported by a number of Jewish groups because Muslims declined to give ads when he published pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian articles. Sayyed says it is debatable that Islam was spread by the sword and Prophet Muhammad's actions were divinely inspired.

India-born Salim Mansur is one of the leading members of Canadians Against Suicide Bombing (CASB). Mansur, a political science professor at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, argues that the Muslim world must stop blaming the West for all its own ailments, including poverty, illiteracy, injustice or extremism.

No, these cannot be called "moderate." To terror apologists like Ghalazi, a moderate is someone who wants the Middle East to either be Judenrein or have all Jews (and Christians) paying the jizya like good little dhimmis.

So he ends up proving his point quite well - any Muslim moderates are so far out of the mainstream of the Islamic world as to be considered lunatic fringe.

A notable correlation to his thesis is that Egyptian and Jordanian leaders who nominally recognize Israel, as well as Mahmoud Abbas, are also completely outside the pale of Islam. It would be interesting to hear how he would dig himself out of that hole - would he claim that they do not really recognize Israel and only said they did for political purposes, or would he say they are off-the-scales wackos whom most real Muslims regard as traitors?

I'd love to know his answer, because either way he ends up proving the point.

TIBNIN, Lebanon, Sept. 24 — One month after a United Nations Security Council resolution ended a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, members of the international force sent to help keep the peace say their mission is defined more by what they cannot do than by what they can.

United Nations officials in Tibnin say part of their job is to stay neutral.

They say they cannot set up checkpoints, search cars, homes or businesses or detain suspects. If they see a truck transporting missiles, for example, they say they can not stop it. They cannot do any of this, they say, because under their interpretation of the Security Council resolution that deployed them, they must first be authorized to take such action by the Lebanese Army.

The job of the United Nations force, and commanders in the field repeat this like a mantra, is to respect Lebanese sovereignty by supporting the Lebanese Army. They will only do what the Lebanese authorities ask.

These are, of course, the same Lebanese authorities that allowed Hezbollah to bring in an arsenal of tens of thousands of rockets to begin with, often past Lebanese army checkpoints at the Syria border who waved them through.

So the UN is now effectively a Hezbollah proxy army. Here's a bit of evidence of their "neutrality":

But now today we hear that Hezbollah has started re-arming, under the noses of the UN, but on the off chance that the UN would slightly impede their determination to build a new terror army they have a new strategy:

Hezbollah has been transporting rockets and heavy weaponry to Palestinian camps in south Lebanon just a few miles from the Israeli border, according to Lebanese officials.

Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley, near Lebanon's border with Syria and Israel.

A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND Hezbollah started building a new set of bunker systems, this time in Palestinian refugee camps.

"The Lebanese Army doesn't have the authority to patrol inside the camps," said the official. "Hezbollah knows it is safe there to rebuild their war bunkers, and they began doing so with Iranian help."

A second Lebanese official confirmed the information, which came one day after Israel's Army Radio reported Hezbollah was seen by the Israeli army dismantling 14 outposts near the border with Israel, removing rockets and equipment for transport.

The Lebanese Army and a contingent of several thousand international troops have deployed in South Lebanon. None of the forces are authorized to enter Palestinian refugee camps.

The Lebanese government has stated its army will not confront Hezbollah or work to disarm the group. An agreement reached with Hezbollah last month allows the Lebanese militia to retain its weapons as long as it doesn't display the arms in public.

Let's follow the thread of illogic:

The UN will not do anything that the Lebanese army doesn't tell it to do.

The Lebanese army will not lift a finger to stop Hezbollah from re-arming.

Neither of them are authorized to enter the Palestinian Arab camps where Hezbollah is now known to be stockpiling weapons and building new bunkers.

And why exactly can the Lebanese not enter "refugee" camps in their own territory?

For some reason, the UNIFIL forces in Lebanon cannot enter the UNRWA-run terror camps because they need Lebanese permission, which cannot be given - without permission from the UN!

And the UNRWA, which has been complicit in raising generations of terrorists throughout the Middle East and increasing the "refugee" population of Palestinian Arabs from 600,000 to some 4 million or so, jealously guards its own turf because it knows that it is a useless organization whose only purpose is to perpetuate Palestinian Arab misery so that they can continue to pressure Israel. Hezbollah fits very neatly in the UNRWA calculations - and even a castrated UNIFIL doesn't.

Monday, September 25, 2006

A great article in Maariv translated by Imshin. Go read the whole thing. In a nutshell, it compares the numbers of Arabs killed by Israel since 1948 with the numbers killed in other conflicts since then, and goes on to analyze why the world is fixated on the comparatively puny numbers Israel is responsible for.

A short summary of Arab/Muslim deaths in some countries since 1948, using the lowest estimates.

Algeria

600,000

Sudan

2,600,000

Afghanistan

2,000,000

Somalia

400,000

Bangladesh

1,400,000

Indonesia

400,000

East Timor

100,000

Iraq

1,540,000

Iran

450,000

Lebanon

130,000

Yemen

100,000

Chechnya

80,000

Most of these Arabs/Musims were killed by other Arabs/Muslims.

And in the Israel/Arab conflict? Total 60,000, of which only a few thousand are Palestinian Arabs and the vast majority died in wars that Arabs themselves started.

Here's a tiny surreal detail of the bizarro world of the Middle East, where Jews defending Jews are called terrorists and people who blow up babies along with themselves are heroes:

A few terror groups really enjoy calling press conferences. It appears that in Gaza, press conferences are an indication of importance, and the groups that just hate seeing Abbas and Hamas hog all the headlines call their own press conferences often.

The funny part is that the contents of their press conferences are rarely reported, but pictures from these circuses sometimes make it to the wire services. Here's some from yesterday:

This must be the only place in the world where press conferences feature more weapons than reporters, where the people who call the press conference do not want the reporters to know who they are, and where nothing of importance is ever said.

Well, hardly ever. It turns out that the Saturday dog-and-machine gun show did include a few interesting facts:

Four armed Palestinian groups are threatening to target any Palestinian government that recognizes Israel.

Such a government would be a “legitimate target” and would be treated as an extension of the “occupation,” the groups said in a press conference in Gaza over the weekend.

The groups include the Na’sir ‘Salah A-Din Brigades (an arm of the Popular Resistance Committees), The Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades, the Monotheism Brigades and the brigades of Ahmad Abu A-Rish.

The groups called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas to retract comments he made at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

‘Abbas said the future Palestinian government would recognize previously signed agreements with Israel, implying the government would recognize Israel.

I find it morbidly fascinating that Arabs have no problems crowing over Palestinian Arab "democracy" and yet see no problem with having the Hamas government abrogate existing agreements. Can you imagine how they would react if Israel would elect a new government who then says that "Oslo is from a previous government - we can ignore that agreement. "

Also glossed over is the small fact that the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades is still nominally headed by the very same Mahmoud Abbas that they are threatening. The media can't be bothered to Chances are many of these thugs are moonlighting as respected "policemen."

I also love the names of these groups. I had never heard of the Monotheism Brigades before. But killing other monotheists in the name of religion is an accepted part of this depraved culture that the world is willing to overlook.

It is just weird how, over time, such crazy and outlandish behavior becomes accepted as normal by the "enlightened" nations, yet any actions that are less than perfect from Israel is quickly condemned.

It seems that there must be a physical law, the Law of Conservation of Responsibility. If the territories have no responsibility whatsoever, then Israel must make up for it by being hyperresponsible for everything they do.

Judging from the photos above, we can also formulate along the same lines the Law of Conservation of Morality, Law of Conservation of Beauty, and Law of Conservation of Intelligence.

A Jewish man was hauled off to the Old City police station in the middle of prayer for sounding the shofar during Rosh HaShanah services at the area known as the Kotel HaKatan.

The incident occurred around 7:30 in the morning, at the northern-most section of the accessible Western Wall - a little-known area called the Kotel HaKatan, the Small Wall. It is considered to have extra sanctity, as it stands opposite the presumed spot of the Holy of Holies of the Beit HaMikdash.

Yesterday morning (Sunday), a group of some 10 men and two women gathered at the site, as they have done for several years on Rosh HaShanah, for early-morning prayers. The holiday prayers feature the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) at several different times. Towards the end of the first shofar sounding, a Border Guard policeman came in, made an unclear motion with his hand as if to ask what was going on, and then left. He said nothing.

Shortly afterwards, Eliyahu K., the 20-year-old prayer leader, blew the shofar a second time, in the midst of his silent prayer (in accordance with Sephardic custom). Policemen came in once again and began trying to pull him away. However, Eliyahu was in the midst of reciting the Amidah - a long passage during which one must stand in one place without moving - and he therefore did not move.

The policemen informed their supervisors by radio that he was praying and refused to move, and reinforcements were soon sent - no fewer than 20 policemen, according to several witnesses.

They then started dragging him out, and when they stopped for a moment, he got up and resumed his prayers. They then began to drag him away again, and shortly afterwards again stopped for a moment - and again he resumed his prayers. At this point, the policemen allowed him to complete his prayers.

In the meanwhile, the other members of the prayer group came out and tried to prevent the policemen from taking Eliyahu away. At this point, the policemen started swinging their clubs violently; no one was hospitalized, but "it was a big brawl," in the words of one witness, with many people being dragged around and beaten while wearing their prayer-shawls and Sabbath suits.

Meanwhile, Eliyahu was taken to the small police station at the Western Wall plaza, and several of his friends followed him there. They wanted to go up the steps into the police station, and demanded that at least the shofar be returned, but the police again came down with their clubs.

They finally took Eliyahu by foot, accompanied by his fiancיe, all the way around the Old City, past Mt. Zion and through Jaffa Gate, to the Kishle police station inside Jaffa Gate. At this point, there was no longer any violence, and Eliyahu was released around 11:30 - after being charged with attacking a policeman, disturbing a policeman in the line of duty, and disturbing the public order.

One witness related, "It's not only that they stopped him from blowing the shofar, but rather the fact that the police beat us up very harshly. I was on my way to the Wall for prayers when I saw 5-7 policemen going with Eliyahu and protecting him very closely. I walked after them, and then a few of his friends came, and then the violence started. We asked the policemen to return the shofar, and they started kicking us and punching us."

The worshipers said that the police had apparently been called by an Arab woman who said the sound of the ram's horn disturbed her children.

A Jewish resident of the Old City told Arutz-7, "How ironic. The loud Arab weddings and nightly prayers by the muazzin [over a powerful loudspeaker] at 4:30 AM disturb our sleep every night." Similar complaints are heard from Jews living near Arab villages in Judea and Samaria.

Israel annexed all of Jerusalem decades ago. The days when Jews cannot worship where ever they want in the holy city should be well behind us.

This is a textbook case of human rights abuses that no human-rights organization would ever consider mentioning - because human rights abuses against religious Jews don't seem to count.

As the article goes on to mention, this echoes the disgusting British behavior during the 1920s and 1930s when they would routinely arrest Jews for daring to blow the Shofar at the Kotel. I talked at length about this here. The fact that a Jewish government does the same thing today is just mind-blowing.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Here's another heartwarming story about a Gaza preasher who only wants to bring secular Muslims back into the fold.

For holy war, of course.

Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of Gaza's Jihadia Salafiya Islamic outreach movement, which seeks to make secular Muslims more religious, called for holy war against the Pope.

"We did not need the words of the pope in order to understand that this is a Crusader war against Islam and it is our holy duty to fight all those who support the pope, who follow him and who did not condemn what this small racist had to say," commented Abu Saqer, speaking to WND from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

"The day will soon come when the green flag of La Illah Illah Allah (There is no god but Allah) and Muhammad Rasul Allah (Muhammad is the Propher of Allah) will be raised upon the Vatican and all around the world and on the fortresses of those who want to destroy Islam because they know that this religion obliges them to face the truth that Islam is Allah's favorite religion. And until they join Islam hell is their last station," Abu Saqer said.

This fine example of tolerance has been greeted with the usual response from the Muslim world - agreement or silence.

It is yet another example of how Islamism, and probably Islam itself, does not distinguish between religion and politics.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

(CBS)NEW YORK It was a meeting out of the Twilight Zone: An Iranian president who wants Israel wiped off the map ... and a dozen rabbis who couldn't agree more.

WCBS-TV gained exclusive access to the event, held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Midtown. There, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against Zionists, meaning the Israelis.

"They have no respect for the lives and dignity of the Jews," Ahmadinejad said through a translator. "If they could they would destroy 6 billion people in the world."

And then he made a chilling prediction about the future of Israel.

"But their time is ending. God willing," he said.

And the rabbis, who believe Israel's founding violated God's will, couldn't have been happier. One even went so far as to praise the controversial leader.

"God should give you long life and health and strength and not to be intimidated by the attacks of Zionism, that is attacking you as being anti-Semitic, which is a pure ploy of Zionism to intimidate people," one rabbi said. "They shouldn't speak up against their illegitimate state."

Ahmadinejad once again questioned the existence of the Holocaust. And the rabbis, some of whom lost relatives in the war, suggested it was all a Zionist conspiracy. The city's Jewish groups told CBS 2 the meeting was a travesty.

When told by CBS 2 that mainstream Jewish groups were calling the meeting an obscenity and a charade because these men represent nothing, Ahmadinejad replied, "Why are you asking this question from me? You represent Jews?"

Our family very simple farmer people who love Islam much and love Palestine much. Most of our family hates the jews. Many of our family live here in USA in Chicago Florida New York Baltimore and Minneapolis. We all love each other but no family is perfect....My plan for the future is for me to finish college and start a business. Insha Allah one day sooner or later return to Palestine and live happy and good with my family. We have a struggle against the evil jews in Palestine. Allahu Maulana wala lahum maula. The best plan I can have is to live adhering to Islam and die that way as well....I would like to teach my children first and foremost the important aspects of Islam. Then they should also know how the life of dunia and Islam are related and also what they can do Islamically that is blessed and commended by Allah. They should also know the history of their parents culture and family. One of the most important things that my children should know is that they have a right to claim our homeland if they so choose in Palestine. And they may be inclined to help our cause to fight against the jews. But I want all my family members to be happy and living in the proper way in Islam.

It's not in my hands but certainly in my prayers.That all muslim unite and that we truly love for each other whetever we love for ourselves.I'd love to see muslims taking over Jews in any fields.I love that,be it in studies or anything.

Conversation starters: Do you like Shaikh Usamah BL?What do you think is the status of Jihad Feesabeelillah (fighting, not waking up for work or college)?People I admire/role models:Mujahid Shaikh Usamah bin Laaden (hfa)Mujahid Shaikh Ayman Az-Zawaahiri (hfa)Mujahid Shaikh Abu Mus'ab az-Zarqaawi (hfa)The thing I would most like to change about the world: Establish Shareeah, and nothing less.i know i cant change the world to this with my own hands alone and without the will of Allaah, but i pray that Islam dominates the world, like Allah (swt) has promised in the Qur'anMy favourite food: Everything healthy and Halaal, except Zionist-funders

I think all countries must live by the shariah of islam, this is not our will, this is the thing that we must do, cause our prophet Muhammad sollollohu alyhi wasallam fought for that for several times in jihad against jews.

To be fair, there are some Muslims on this site that say they are not prejudiced against Jews and do not obsess over jihad. But can you imagine an American dating site where people proudly list similar opinions?

I'm stuyding hafz of quran in the local masjid i read daily, i also trian at the local gym and i do kung fu. My interest centre around the deen either learning or teaching I watch jazeerah alot and i hav access to saudi tv so i get to see some of the ulam'a in the haram

a good sister who really feels for islam cares about the muslims becomes angry when she see the injustic towards the ummah, prays, fast, reads quraan, likes to learn about the deen, know how to enjoy herself in the halaal her age is not improtant neither her acdemic quals, as for her islamic knowledge the more she knows the more desirable she becomes

My worst match

someone whos got that east west balance rather than a islamic personadoesnt pray or doesnt care about islam etc secularist

Remember when Hamas used to pretend that it had a nonviolent "political wing" and a rogue "military wing" which were not related to each other? For years, it maintained a fiction (for the eager consumption of the West) that its leaders did not support terror explicitly.

As Hamas and Fatah lurch towards a "unity" government, the strategy of Hamas becomes clearer - to maintain its total rejection of Israel and its total embrace of terror, while using Fatah as a fig leaf to turn international pressure around, from Hamas to Israel.

The latest Hamas move seems to be its joining the PLO. This would put political pressure on Israel, especially by Europe, because Israel has already recognized the PLO as the sole, legitimate representatives of the Palestinian Arab people.

There is a simple calculus that Haniyeh and his thuggish company know all too well: The West really, really wants peace, and this desire is so great that the West will push hard for even the illusion of progress. And Hamas, ever practical, loves the illusion of progress as long as it does not have to change its entire raison dÂÃªtre, the destruction of Israel.

The illusion of progress plays well into terrorist hands, as empty gestures are counted as if they are on a par with real actions. And Israel is then pressured to do real actions - give tax money to terrorists, free terrorist prisoners, give land.

All of Israel's potential actions are substantial and not easily reversed, while all of the terrorist actions are wisps of vapor.

This hunger for perceived progress towards peace is why the Quartet, including the US, is now supporting the idea of a unity government for the Palestinian Arabs including Hamas. They are so enthralled with the vain hope that Abbas can actually convince Hamas to change its entire philosophy that they are willing to ignore the fact that Hamas has consistently said, in plain language, over and over again, that it will never lay down its arms and never recognize Israel.

Unfortunately, this mass hallucinatory worship at the altar of illusory progress includes Olmert, who is now happy to meet Abbas, a man quickly turning into Hamas' puppet. It also includes Bush, who calls Abbas a "man of peace".

The possibility for real peace is remote. The ever-optimistic Western mind, convinced of the basic goodness of every man, cannot reconcile its deep belief in peace with the clear facts on the ground, that the Islamists (and a great majority of Muslims at large) will never accept Israel. So rather than face up to the real issue, it replaces "peace" with "peace process" as if they are the same thing.

They are polar opposites. Peace would strengthen Israel as well as her neighbors, creating an environment where Jew and Arab would both benefit enormously. The "peace process," on the other hand, is the consistent weakening of Israel at the expense of her sworn enemies, willing to lie to achieve the ultimate goal of replacing Israel with yet another terror state.

Every passing month will continue to show the Western nations, led by Europe, eroding their position on Hamas and increasing their pressure on Israel in the pretense of the pursuit of "peace." Hamas knows this very well and can play the game knowing that a single ambiguous word from them can overpower months of terrorist rhetoric - when the audience is so hungry for anything approximating peace.

It is a game that Arafat was the master of, but Hamas is taking it to a whole new level, managing to play it without even the paper concessions of the PLO's terrorist founder. Within a short period of time, the EU will resume funding terror and pressuring Israel - which is the EU's natural state - without Hamas having to do anything substantial.

In late August I linked to an article about the the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations planning to give an award for "outstanding human relations work" to a pro-Hezbollah, rabidly anti-American and anti-Israel Muslim leader named Maher Hathout. (The original TNR article is no longer available without a subscription, a copy is here.)

They've received some flack about it but have stood by their decision. A former award winner has sent his award back rather than share it with someone like Hathout.

"We were looking to find anybody from the Muslim community that was discouraging terrorism, that was encouraging engagement in the dialogue and that was a potential bridge. While you may not have perfection, it is a starting point you can build upon," Dove said.

"I challenge you to find another party in Los Angeles who is a practicing Muslim leader who would be less controversial."

So now we hear the Commission's criteria: This year's awardee must be a Muslim leader, and they found the least objectionable Muslim leader they could - someone who calls Israel "butchers," who rails against Arab states that talk to Israel and who and says that Hezbollah never targets civilians.

Some of my Muslim correspondents have mentioned how most Muslims really are moderate. How come it appears that none of their Muslim leaders are?

The Home Secretary has urged Muslim parents to watch out for signs that their children are being groomed to become suicide bombers. John Reid told them they must regard their youngsters as potential recruits for firebrand preachers.

His extraordinary comments came in a speech to a specially invited Muslim audience at an east London location which was kept secret for security reasons. "There is no nice way of saying this," he said in a passage warning about the danger from extremist clerics.

"These fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash children for suicide bombing, to kill themselves in order to murder others. Look for the tell-tale signs now and talk to them before their hatred grows and you risk losing them forever. In protecting our families we are protecting our community."

His remarks were condemned by some Muslim leaders, who accused him of wanting parents to spy on their sons. Ahmed Versi, editor of the Muslim News, criticised Mr Reid, saying he was asking parents to inform on their children and implying that all Muslims were potential terrorists. It would generate a "new climate of fear" against Muslims, he said.

But meeting a 60-strong audience, hand-picked from London's Pakistani, Bangladeshi and north African communities, Mr Reid will suggest that some Muslim families turn a blind eye to danger signs. "I know it's not easy," he said. "I'm a parent of two boys and I know how hard it is to raise children and to know everything about them. "And I know how hard it is, sometimes, to see what is in front of our eyes - particularly when it is something that we do not agree with. "

Isn't it interesting that a British politician cannot speak freely in a Muslim area of his own country, and when he speaks to his own country's "hand-picked" Muslim audience he needs to keep the location a secret?

And isn't it interesting that the Muslim community reacted as if there is no problem with terror at all, and that they are insulted at the idea that they should actually act like parents to their kids?

But that is not the most disturbing thing about this event. From Sky News:

John Reid was shouted down as he called on Muslim parents to look out for "tell-tale signs" of terrorists brainwashing their children.

He was talking in London's East End - the focus of a number of recent investigations into alleged terrorist plots.

A few minutes into his speech, a man called Abu Izzadeen stood up and berated the Home Secretary over police arresting more than "a thousand" Muslims.

Mr Izzadeen said: "You (Mr Reid) are a tyrant" and "You are an enemy of Islam and Muslims".

Mr Reid persevered after protesters disrupted his speech

He shouted: "State terrorism by British police", before officers and stewards led him from the building.

The protester, also known as Trevor Brook, is an extremist from the al Ghurabaa group, which was banned by Mr Reid under new anti-terror laws.

Police have investigated Mr Izzadeen in the past after he praised the July 7 London Tube bombers.

A second protester was ejected when he also interrupted the minister's speech.

So in this secret location, along with high security and a carefully selected audience, a known Islamist terror-supporter, member of a banned terror group, who praised the 7/7 attacks manages to get in to shout down the Home Secretary.

All only a month after a Islamist plot to kill thousands of people was foiled.

Palestinian Media Watch notes that a music video that was very popular during the intifada has now started playing again on PA TV:

Click to view video

The video shows a PalArab woman, going past a barbed-wire fence to run and meet her lover, getting shot in the back by Israeli Zionist apes/pigs/infidels, and waking up in Paradise along with the other whorish PalArab women just waiting to get laid by shahids for the rest of eternity as they frolic, fully clothed, in the water. (Their hair is uncovered, though. Sluts.)

Meanwhile, her heartbroken boyfriend visits her grave, in a cemetery that for some reason is right by the Zionist infidel border, so he runs towards the apes and pigs and gets shot as well, quite accurately I may add. Then he appears in Paradise to meet his girlfriend, and then thinks - hot damn, I get to screw all the other women here, and this shrew is not allowed to complain about it, because this is a male paradise, and my girlfriend is just one of the dime-a-dozen whores here for my pleasure!

This warmly uplifting video is now back on the air, encouraging PalArabs to get to heaven as fast as possible so they can see their dead grandmothers servicing their friends to much music and laughter.

UNITED NATIONS — As world leaders converged at the United Nations on Monday, French President Jacques Chirac dealt a significant blow to the Bush administration's effort to slow Iran's nuclear development, saying his government would join Russia and China in resisting the U.S. push for sanctions against Tehran.

"I am never in favor of sanctions," Chirac told Europe 1 radio on the eve of the General Assembly's annual debate. "I have never observed that sanctions were very effective."

Chirac proposed a compromise in which the Security Council would suspend the threat of sanctions and Iran would suspend enrichment of uranium while the two sides talked. As a last resort, after diplomacy had been exhausted, France might consider penalties, he said, but only "moderate and adapted" ones.

Iran wants no sanctions and more time to develop nukes. France wants no sanctions and more time for Iran to develop nukes. Even Chirac cannot be so stupid as to think that Iran will be dissuaded by the "threat" of not suspending talking about sanctions that France is now on the record as opposing anyway, along with Russia and China.

How can one apply Occam's Razor to explain how France is so proactively supporting the exact same goals as a terror-supporting, fundamentalist, almost-nuclear regime?

Is it French infantilism, where they are so upset over losing their status as a world power that they will do anything to regain the illusion of relevance? (Which is, incidentally, very similar to the reason the Muslim world supports terror.)

Is it that World War II has made France so scared of war that they will do anything and appease anybody to avoid the chance of conflict?

Is it insane jealousy of the US that makes them want to automatically oppose whatever the US wants?

Is it fear that the significant Muslim population in France will revolt?

Or do we descend into conspiracy theiry territory and wonder if France doesn't have a secret backroom deal with Iran - oil for nukes?

Or did Chirac convert to Islam?

Whatever it is, it proves that France has no value anymore except to nations that support terror.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

At approximately 6:45 on Saturday, 16 September 2006, activists from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, fired three homemade rockets at Israeli targets. One of the rockets fell in Zimme Street southeast of Beit Hanoun. The rocket explosion injured two girls on their way to school. The girls are Ola Ahmad Thaher (13) and Asma' Adnan El-Ashqar (15). Both sustained shrapnel injuries all over their bodies.

Meanwhile, the famed tens of thousands of PalArab policemen are doing their jobs in protecting their people:

In the past 24 hours, 3 persons have been killed and 6 others, including a child, have been wounded in 3 armed family disputes in Gaza City and the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis.

...At approximately11:30 on Tuesday, 19 September 2006, ‘Abdullah Suleiman ‘Abdul ‘Aal Dughmosh, 22, was killed by a live bullet to the abdomen, and his brother, 32-year-old ‘Omran, was seriously wounded also by a live bullet to the abdomen in an inter-family armed dispute in al-Sabra neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. The two brothers were evacuated to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

At approximately 21:00 on Monday, 18 September 2006, an inter-family armed dispute erupted in al-Shojaeya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. The dispute is related to land ownership. As a result, two persons were killed:

1. Fayez Ahmed al-No’aizi, 22, hit by a live bullet to the chest; and

2. Hamdi ‘Ali al-No’aizi, 53, hit by several live bullets to the back and the legs.

In addition, 4 persons from the same family were wounded.

Earlier, at approximately 22:00 on the same day, Jihad As’ad Ahmed Jarghoun, 9, was wounded by shrapnel from a live bullet to the left leg, when an inter-family armed dispute erupted in Ma’an and Jourat al-Lout areas in Khan Yunis.

It is apparent that my source for most of these, PCHR, is not counting every self-inflicted death in the territories, so my updated count of 83 PalArabs killed by PalArabs since late June is definitely understated. Either way, more Palestinian Arabs have been killed by other Palestinian Arabs than by Israel in the past week.

The Bahraini newspaper, Akhbar Al-Khalij, has taken the lead in publishing cartoons claiming Jewish control of the Pope and a Jewish-Christian conspiracy against Islam.

•September 18: Headline "The Pope." However in Arabic when it is read in a different vowelization it means the "Great Ink." The cartoon depicts a Jewish hand spilling the ink all over the "Muslim World's" Head. •Sept. 17: Headline "The insolence against Islam continues." It portrays a caricature of a Hasidic man as a snake charmer with his flute luring out of a basket several snakes, one with the head of Pope Benedict and one with the head of President George W. Bush. Another shows a Cross and Star of David stabbing Islam, represented by a crescent moon.

•Sept. 16: Headline "The Vatican Pope insults Islam." It shows Jesus saying to Pope Benedict XVI: "With your words (speech) you have insulted me as did the Jews…" The Pope has in his hand the Jewish snake of strife.

The Massacre at Damascus. [Correspondence of the London Post.] July 16, 1860. On the llth instant, I forwarded to you, via Smyrna, a telegraphic dispatch giving an outline of the fearful tragedy which has just been witnessed, and which, when the last accounts left the place, was by no means finished, in Damascus. Since then, further details of this outrage have reached Beyrout from various authentic sources.

Damascus is the real capital of Syria, and is the largest city of Asiatic Turkey. It is considered by all Moslems a holy town, as from j departs and to it arrives, every year, the ho; or pilgrim caravan, to and from Mecca. The population of Damascus exceeds o which are Moslems, Christians and Jews.

Ever since the murder of the Christians by the Druses, in Lebanon, commenced, and more particularly since it became every day more and more evident to all men that the Turkish government showed partiality to the Druses, the more disreputable Moslems of Damascus began to be exceedingly insolent to the Christians. These low Moslems are t numerous, a very troublesome, and an exceedingly bigoted race, in all large Oriental towns and are tenfold more so in Damascus than in any place I know in Asia.

Hearing how the Government had everywhere not only sided against their co-religionists, but how it hat everywhere in Lebanon actually helped to be tray, if cot really to murder them, the Christians of Damascus were from the very outse downhearted and frightened, as well they might be, when threatened from day to day that the Moslems would rise and exterminate them.

Matters got worse and worse, the one party becoming daily more frightened, the other hourly more insolent, until at last, on Sunday the 8th InsL, when the Christians came out of their various churches, a mob of Moslem lads were busy in the streets, making crosses in chalk on the ground, and then stamping and spitting on the sacred emblem. But so utterly downhearted were the Christians, that they did not even complain to the authorities ol this wanton insult, On the contrary, all they did was to confine themselves still more strictly within their houses for the rest of the day.

What must then have been their astonishment on the Monday morning, to see these same lads who had made and spat upon the crosses on the previous day, sweeping the streets of the Christian quarter in chains, by order of the Turkish head of police. They at once supposed that this order must have been given for the very purpose of exciting a RIOT, and they were not mistaken.

At two PM three hundred of the lowest Moslems of Damascus, rushed, armed, into the Christian quarter, crying Slay the dogs of Christianity and immediately the work of plunder, burning and murder commenced. Achmet Pacha, Governor General and Commander in Chief of the field marshal in the Sultan's was at once informed of what had taken place. But, although he had at his disposal some eight hundred regular troops, and several field pieces, not a man nor a gun did he move. He never showed himself in the streets, nor took any steps whatever to stop the massacre, de- old story of Haabeyia, Kasheyia, Deir-el-Kamar and he had not troops enough to do any good.

The Russian Consulate was almost the first house attacked, and all those Christians who did not take refuge with the famous Algerfne chief, Abd-el- Kader (who has behaved most nobly throughout the ...) were murdered at once. But, although the affair might have been stopped the greatest ease, before dark on the Monday, wier that hour the mob increased in numbers every minute.

Late in the evening about 300 soldiers were sent to put a stop to the outrage, but very shortly joined in the plundering; such as did not do BO actually used their arms to massacre the Christians. The whole Christian includes some of the finest palaces to be found in the soon one moss of flames; for this there is the positive authority of a European eye witness, who was hiding in the neighborhood all that fearful the Christians tried to escape from the flames, they were thrust back on the burning piles by the bayonets of the Turkish regular troops. However, when we recollect that one of the military chiefs who commanded in Damascus was Osman Beg, the miscreant who but three-weeks previously had delivered up at Hasbeiya up- wards of fifteen hundred Christians to be massacred by the Druses, ail wonder at the conduct of the military ceases at once.

When our last advices from Damascus left that place, the whole Christian quarter had been utterly destroyed. Four thousand Christians bad taken refuge in the house of Abd-el- Kader, who defended them against all comers. Three thousand had taken refuge in the castle under the Pacha, and several hundred in the English consulate, which as situated in the Moslem quarter of the been respected. two thousand Christians, it was calculated, had been murdered, all in cold blood, and the estimated of valuables, was, '00 sterling.

From Aleppo the news is bad. They had not heard of the Damascus massacre, but fully expected, almost every hour, the MOSLEMs of the town to rise on the Christians. Captain Paynter, of her Majesty's ship Exmouth, senior naval officer here, has despatched her Majesty's ship Mohawk to Latakia and Alexandretta, so as to pick up and save fugitives from MOSLEM fanaticism.

In Beyrout the panic among the native Christians has been something fearful yesterday and today. They are embarking by hundreds in the different merchant steamers to Alexandretta, Alexandria, Corfu, Malta, and even for England. Nearly all the French and English merchants are sending away their families to Europe. All trade is stopped for the present. Syria has had a blow from which she will not recover for sixty years.

In Alexandria, all the refugees that have fled there lave been very handsomely treated by Said Pacha, who'gives food to the poorest, money to many, houses to all. In Beyrout, the English and Americans have formed a fund to relieve the poor, who have fled to this place in thousands; the French have done the same; the Sisters of Charity have relieved hundreds every day with food; the French, English, Russian, Austrian and Prussian consuls (to say nothing of the American missionaries who daily feed three hundred) give bread, cooked meat, rice, clothes, to several hundreds of these poor, starved, burnt out peasants.

Adb al-Qadir is credited with saving some 12,000 people in this incident, and was rewarded by France for his acts.

comments

compliments

Omri: "Elder is one of the best established and most respected members of the jblogosphere..."Atheist Jew:"Elder of Ziyon probably had the greatest impression on me..."Soccer Dad: "He undertakes the important task of making sure that his readers learn from history."AbbaGav: "A truly exceptional blog..."Judeopundit: "[A] venerable blog-pioneer and beloved patriarchal figure...his blog is indispensable."Oleh Musings: "The most comprehensive Zionist blog I have seen."Carl in Jerusalem: "...probably the most under-recognized blog in the JBlogsphere as far as I am concerned."Aussie Dave: "King of the auto-translation."The Israel Situation:The Elder manages to write so many great, investigative posts that I am often looking to him for important news on the PalArab (his term for Palestinian Arab) side of things."Tikun Olam: "Either you are carelessly ignorant or a willful liar and distorter of the truth. Either way, it makes you one mean SOB."Mondoweiss commenter: "For virulent pro-Zionism (and plain straightforward lies of course) there is nothing much to beat it."Didi Remez: "Leading wingnut"

disclaimer

The opinions expressed by those providing comments on this website are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Elder of Ziyon. EoZ is not responsible for the content of the comments.

You are legally liable for the content of your comments that you submit to this site.

By submitting a comment to this website, you warrant that we are not responsible, or liable of any of the content posted by you and you agree to indemnify us from any and all claims and liabilities (including legal fees) which could arise from your comments submitted to the site.